iPhone

Whether you use Apple products or not, you have to admit; they’re really gorgeous, masterfully crafted devices. Jony Ive and his crew dedicate a lot of time and energy into creating some really great hardware, so his views on the subject of design should be treated with a level of respect. I mean, the guy was knighted — he’s probably worth hearing out. Still, the guy running Motorola was non-plussed about recent statements Ive made. Though he didn’t specifically call Motorola out, Ive’s comments were pretty transparent.

It seems like almost everyone is getting on the VR trend these days. Surprisingly, even Apple seems to be game, or at least considered the possibility. The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) just granted Cupertino a patent for a "Head-Mounted Display Apparatus for Retaining a Portable Electronic Device with Display". Or to keep it short, a Samsung Gear VR-like accessory but powered by the iPhone instead. Is Apple now jumping on the virtual reality bandwagon? Probably not yet, but at least the legal groundwork has been established.

When it comes to email apps for your smartphone or tablet, the list of options is exhaustive. Google recently made a big splash with Inbox, which aims to make your email more contextual to-do than messaging platform. After buying Sparrow, Google did what they typically do in an acquisition setting, and put the skids on incoming updates. With the service languishing of late as an also-ran that proved a reliable standard for modern email apps to gauge themselves against, it’s now been pulled from the App Store for iOs and OS X.

What defines the Modern Family? If it's ABC's popular sitcom of the same name, then that's a question spanning six seasons, and now adding Apple to its roster of same-sex and inter-generational marriage, awkward siblings, and cross-cultural differences. For upcoming episode "Connection Lost," however, the challenge got even greater: shot almost entirely on iPhone 6 in just two days, processed on a Mac Pro, and taking place entirely on the desktop of OS X Yosemite. I headed to 20th Century Fox studios in LA to preview what co-author and director Steve Levitan describes as "the most labor-intensive episode" that the Modern Family team has ever attempted.

Throughout your day, you probably find yourself with time to spare. Not a lot of time, but enough to make standing there doing nothing slightly awkward. A new app, Short, might just change that for you. Rather than waste time with a game or social media, Short finds content you might like to read, which can be filtered to suit the time you have available. Though it’s iOS-only, Short is free to download and use, offers no in-app purchases, and has both an iPhone and iPad version available.

How many "smart" keyrings and chargers have you come across lately? Three? Five? A dozen? If you've lost count, here's one more to add to your list. WonderCube is frighteningly true to its name because it is such a wonder to behold. This tiny cube that can fit on the palm of your hand has almost everything, and we mean everything, you'll need for a mobile phone accessory: charger, external storage, stand, or even a torch. All it's missing is the kitchen sink. Well, that and some location-based features.

According to Tim Cook, Apple has been working with the United States government to get Apple Pay working in national parks across the nation. Starting in September, you'll be able to work with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus to pay your way in to national parks - and probably pay for hotdogs, too. News of this update comes from Tim Cook speaking at a White House Summit on Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection. This should go a long way to proving to companies of all sorts that Apple Pay is here to stay.

Editing photos on iOS isn’t difficult, and iOS 8 brought some native tweaks to make editing your pictures much easier. Still, some want more, or at least something different. There are plenty of apps out there that can deliver really solid photo editing, but the latest, Darkroom, might just be the best yet. It’s a little bit Photoshop, a lot customizable, and free (with an in-app purchase available). Darkroom even lets you create your own custom filters, should you always find yourself going a particular direction with your edits.

If you still needed convincing that smartphone cameras are more than capable of professional results, "Romance in NYC" may do the trick. Shot not only entirely from the a single character's point of view, but using nothing more than an iPhone 6 and a selection of apps and accessories, the 15 minute short was crowdfunded on Kickstarter in late 2014 and is now making the rounds of the festival circuit. I caught up with director Tristan Pope to find out what made him put down his pro-camera kit for a smartphone, how the iPhone 6 delivered in unexpected ways, and why he ended up wearing a GorillaPod like a Hannibal Lecter mask.

Pinterest is practically the home of all things interesting on the Web, from photos, to art, to recipes, to products, to fashion. And it doesn't matter if you're a gal or a guy, you'll probably find something pinteresting on Pinterest. To emphasize its message of broader appeal even more, Pinterest is introducing a new type of pin that users of both sexes will most likely find useful: app pins. Or to be more precises iPad and iPhone app pins that let you install apps right within Pinterest.